Sanguine Saga
by Baroquess
Summary: Original Star Ocean story, involving Cius x Yoshua slash. That means boy x boy. Chapter 2 up.
1. Surprise

Sanguine Saga

**Rating:** Right now I suppose PG-13 for blatant ignorant racism, I suppose, and Cius' potty mouth. XP BAD Cius!

**Pairing:** Cius/Joshua

**Warnings:** Shounen-ai (Boy x Boy love). Also Cius' potty mouth. XP

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Star Ocean or its characters, or the conversations in the game.

**A/N:** Yes, Star Ocean (SNES) slash. I'm sure the designers, if they were dead, would roll around in their grave. I am so sorry. XD

Chapter I

_Surprise _

It was so very fucking _hot_.

There was no justice in the world, Cius decided as the hot sand burned the blisters on his feet for a lovely, _lovely_ sensation. First he had come face to face with Fear again, his childhood… well, he supposed _friend_ was the proper word for it. The Highlander had grown up with her, and although they constantly bickered, deep down there was a deep mutual respect between them.

Meeting Fear after having run away from his proclaimed destiny in the army of Astral was bad enough as it was. Well, it had not really been_ that_ bad, apart from his father almost being murdered and all that crap. Cius missed the girl terribly, but he didn't want to dwell on the thoughts he had about her. He just wasn't good enough to be a soldier in the army, and that should be his final thought on it. He had to improve before he could face his Astral, his father, and even Fear again. Right now even Ratix was better than he was, more agile in combat, and the boy was a damn runt.

Damn, even the damn town named _Hot _hadn't been this hot, Cius remembered after wiping sweat from his forehead, which had effectively been gluing burning sand on his forehead. Ratix and Iria didn't seem to have any problems with the hot sun burning on their skulls and scorching the sand under their feet, though. Apart from looking a little fatigued, they both seemed fine. Cursing his unusual lengthy posture, Cius continued to trudge through the sand.

"And all this for a fuckin' artefact!" The fighter growled, although it came out hoarser than actually threatening. Only then did he realise that he was feeling parched. Great.

The strangely gathered group were on their way to Parji Shinden, Temple of the Ancients. To get there, they had to cover great distances of ruthless desert ground crawling with monsters. Luckily, the creatures were pretty weak, so their team had no trouble defeating them. Well, they wouldn't have, if only they hadn't been feeling so thirsty.

He cursed Fear inwardly for suggesting to Ratix that they had to find the damn artefact, the Eye of Truth. He was damn happy Ratix hadn't invited Fear to actually come along with them. Her place was in the army. Then he cursed Ratix for being a naïve teenager and deciding to jump into adventure at the first possible moment. Cius recognised after a moment of consideration this that he would have done the same thing. Still, someone had to be blamed for this incredibly awful situation, and Ratix was a perfect scapegoat.

The group spirit had really hit an all-time low when they had discovered that the Temple they had found had been a _diversion_ temple, and the real temple lay hidden elsewhere. And, _of course_, they were heavily wounded because, _naturally_, the monsters in the Temple had been much stronger than the monsters outside. Cius couldn't care less about why that natural phenomenon kept appearing in places they visited, but figured that he could just as well get stronger whilst fighting monsters on a less horrible place. Anywhere but in the damn desert.

Ratix and Iria were tired as well, but chose not to comment for Cius constant swearing was enough for them all. Ratix was just worried about Milly, the only person from his timeline he had left. Ratix had told him it was a long story, and chose to not really get into it, which worked for Cius. It gave him a headache just thinking about it. Different time zones… Damn. And Iria was certainly a very weird person as well. She did not even have a tail, or elongated ears. It made Cius slightly uncomfortable, but the two brats were nice enough so Cius chose not to take their past into consideration.

After wandering up onto yet another random hill for the sake of exploring so the travel to find the damn Temple wouldn't be a complete waste of time, a shadow swiftly appeared above them. Cius quickly drew his sword, sensing imminent danger.

Before Cius had a chance to properly look up in the face of danger, a very dainty and fragile, fucking _winged_ man appeared from the sky and dangled obnoxiously in his eyesight.

Oh great. A _Featherfolk_. Just the thing he wanted to see. _I really must stop being sarcastic to myself_, Cius figured, as he kept his sword pointed at the… being still hovering in mid-air.

Then, it _spoke_. "Forgive me for startling you. I bear no ill intentions… Would you mind putting your sword away?"

The Featherfolk's voice surprised Cius, although he made sure the surprise wasn't etched in his expression. He had learned since he was young that you had to be on guard, especially around strange beings like winged fucking men. He still couldn't get over it, never having seen one in real life before.

The voice had been deep, _sensual_, even, if you were a chick and liked that sort of thing. His scrawny body sure belied his voice, and made Cius wonder what other surprises the being had in store for them.

…_Wait, what the fuck am I thinking? For all I know it's going to zap us all into oblivion! _Cius shook his head. _Well, if it's strong enough to do so, which I seriously doubt as it's a scrawny thing. _

"Well, if it ain't a Featherfolk!" He said boisterously, taking a few steps back to give the being a place to land, or hover, whatever they did. Why did it have to land so _close to him_, though? He bared his fangs instinctively and growled low under his breath.

The being seemed to not catch his warning signs, or just blatantly ignore them, for it seemed as ease in front of the group on the ground as it had been at ease hovering in the air.

"My name is Joshua. Highlander warrior Cius, will you assist me? I just discovered something that looks like a hidden entrance on a cliff face."

Iria, the strange girl who did not have a tail or ears, spoke up. "Are you telling the truth?"

_Smart girl, never trust a Featherfolk_, Cius thought. He glanced at the being, but it showed no emotion other than perhaps hesitance.

"Yes, it has been closed up with a boulder. Unfortunately, when it comes to tasks requiring physical strength, I fear that I am inadequate…"

Cius sized up the Featherfolk, his eyes trailing over the frail physique and skinny arms and legs. And with its Featherfolk physiology, the man couldn't weigh more than 30 kilograms. Perfect for flying, but awful for solid ground. And with the frilly damn white robes and long _green_ well-kept hair; geeze, it must be pretty damn pampered. It didn't look more than a little unkempt from the sand blowing in its face. God, how had the thing survived away from its home? Cius was already annoyed at the being. It spoke so _politely_, like it was better than them all or something. Even while it was the fucking weak thing, and… wait, did it ask for _his_ help?

"Okay, let me take care of it." He sighed deeply, taking his sword out of his sheathe once more. Atleast then he'd be rid of the fucking Featherfolk.

Only then did he wonder; how had the Featherfolk known his name from the start? He hadn't mentioned it…


	2. Sister

Sanguine Saga

**Rating:** Right now I suppose PG-13 for blatant ignorant racism, I suppose, and Cius' potty mouth. XP BAD Cius!

**Pairing:** Cius/Joshua

**Warnings:** Shounen-ai (Boy x Boy love). Also Cius' potty mouth. XP

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Star Ocean or its characters, or the conversations in the game.

**A/N:** Yes, Star Ocean (SNES) slash. I'm sure the designers, if they were dead, would roll around in their grave. I am so sorry. XD

Chapter 2

_Sister_

Cius slowly walked up to the immense rock covering what appeared to indeed be some kind of cave entrance. Lovely. All this for an artefact? And to help a fucking _Featherfolk_? Cius had to bite his tongue with his fangs to stop himself from swearing aloud. This was going to be one tough cookie, looking at the size of that rock. He gave a long, loud groan as he tried lifting the boulder from its original setting.

After a lot of pulling and panting in the already hot desert, the boulder was finally pulled enough to the side so that everybody could enter. Cius, now sweating profusely, turned to the Featherfolk, a smug smirk on his face. _Well, I wonder what you're going to do to us now._ Cius thought, still a little weary around the fuckin' _winged _man.

"Wow! You did it!" The winged being seemed genuinely surprised, which somehow annoyed Cius even more. Had the thing underestimated his strength? Damn, but he was insecure enough as it was for himself; he didn't need some weakass thing doubting his strengths too.

The Featherfolk named Joshua wasted no time and quickly stepped towards the entrance of the cave without even so much as a word of gratitude. "Hold on a minute." Cius said, closing the distance between him and the Featherfolk once more.

"What is it?" The being turned around, his eyes wide in fear. _What is it so scared of?_ Cius wondered. Or had it suddenly grown half a brain and realise that Cius was not as weak as it had deemed him as?

The being seemed impatient, which made Cius growl in frustration, his tail swishing quickly in anger. Now it had the nerve to be impatient around them, after Cius had done it such a favour by removing the damn rock?

"I ain't never heard of Featherfolk adventurers. I thought you guys lived in the mountains your whole life?"

The Featherfolk remained silent for a while, as if pondering his next words. When it did speak, the low voice was much softer, almost an apology for the earlier impatience. "That's the plateau race… Highlanders are the same, are they not? Leaving the Astral Kingdom is tantamount to becoming a commoner?"

A fuck, the Featherfolk was a smartass! Cius was now growing very impatient with the Featherfolk as well, and he glared at the being. "You tryin' to tell me to keep my nose outta other people's business?" He growled, his tail now swishing back and forward at a rapid pace. He did not like to be reminded of his poor status right now, especially not after just having turned down an opportunity to restore his and his father's good name again. What a fucking insolent being he was dealing with…

Luckily for the Featherfolk's health, Ratix came forward after having witnessed Cius already-aggravated temper going through the roof and started to interfere. "Hey, you two!" was his heroic line, before he went to stand inbetween Cius and the Featherfolk.

_Such harsh words, damn boy._ Cius thought with a slight smirk. Ratix making an ass of himself was always a sure fire way to make him feel better. Even _Fear_ made more imposing speeches than that.

"…I'm sorry, that wasn't very mature of me…" The Featherfolk uttered, completely aware of the effect its comment had had on Cius.

A grunt escaped Cius' throat. "Fine, if that ain't what you mean then that's fine with me. Bah. Let's go, Ratix." Cius wanted to make sure the Featherfolk didn't follow them, for whatever reason it might have, wanting to go inside this cave. After all the work they had done, this… Joshua better not be after the Eye of Truth as well. He kept glaring at the Featherfolk as he pushed it out of the way to enter the cave all by himself. He hoped Ratix would follow him now, or he'd be sure to look like a complete fool.

Joshua remained behind, awfully confused at the Highlander's harsh treatment of him. He felt slightly guilty, although he had not expected his words making such a harsh impact. He had only meant it as a polite way of telling the Highlander that, like the Highlander had said himself, it was his own business and he didn't like sharing it with everyone. He only wished he could have remained in the mountains with not a care in the world.

"…Was calling him a "commoner" an insult…?" Joshua spoke softly to his newfound friends Ratix and Iria. Atleast they didn't seem ready to jump at his throat, which made them trustable in his book, even if they weren't really friends. Unexpectedly, Iria stepped in front of him, smiling at him reassuringly. "That's just how he is, don't take it personally."

"Huh?"

"Basically, if you start to get too nosy, he sees you as meddling in his affairs." Iria replied, her smile widening. She was already used to her team-mate's antics, it seemed.

Joshua had a feeling Cius and he might have more in common than Cius might originally have thought. "Is that so?"

Iria chuckled softly. "He doesn't look like that kind of person, does he? He was like that when we first met him, too." Iria now laughed out loud, obviously remembering something funny that involved Cius. Abruptly, she stopped laughing, turning serious once more. "But you must have something troubling you too, right? If you didn't, you wouldn't have been able to make him so angry."

Joshua nodded, lowering his head as he stared at the sand under his feet. It was such a depressing sight to him; he preferred altitudes. "It's just as he said. The winged race… A Featherfolk such as myself travelling from place to place is not normal, no matter how you look at it. I am thought of as being eccentric…" Joshua sighed, for a moment allowing himself to wallow in self-pity. It had been such a long time ago since people had talked to him without automatically shunning him, much like Cius had done. "For that reason, I make sure to make no relationships with the people around me. To the best of my ability, anyway…" He trailed off, hoping he hadn't scared off the companionship he was around. These people seemed like a pretty eccentric bunch of people themselves, and they hadn't shunned him at first either, so _perhaps_…

"Oh, if it's that bad of a problem, why don't you tell us about it? There's an old saying, "Relations between people are tied to prior relations in past lives.""

"What's that?" Ratix asked, mirroring Joshua's unasked question. Joshua had never heard of that saying before, although it had a bit of truth in it.

"It's an old saying on Earth." Iria replied, grinning at Ratix. She kept forgetting Ratix wasn't from Earth, as she felt like she had known him for most of her life already.

Joshua began speaking again. "The truth is…" He quickly turned around into the cave, intending to find Cius as he was really the one that needed to hear this. Joshua felt like his apology had not been adequate, judging by the man's harsh words towards him.

He nearly bumped into the Highlander as he had been waiting right in front of the entrance. Cius slowly turned around towards the being, intending to keep quiet around the Featherfolk as long as it didn't talk to him first.

"I am in search of my sister." Joshua said, staring directly into Cius' eyes, hoping the Highlander understood the significance of the feelings he had about his quest. "Huh?" Was the eloquent response Cius gave. He had obviously not expected that sort of confession.

"I am in search of my sister from whom I was separated when we were very young…"

To Cius, it appeared like the man was recalling something entirely too private, most likely something that had to do with the aforementioned sister. Why exactly did he wish to share this with Cius? _Goddamn_, but the being was annoying.

Still, he couldn't help but to feel a slight twinge of pain as the being stood there, still facing him in a determined fashion. Then Joshua closed his eyes and sighed, the memory apparently done playing in his head. "My parents were murdered. I was thrown over a cliff, but was able to survive. However, I am not certain if my sister is alive or dead… I shall never forget my mortal enemy." Fury started burning in the timid Featherfolk's eyes, which surprised Cius greatly. Like the being, he had really underestimated _him_, too, it appeared. The being had some spark in him!

The Featherfolk continued, the lithe frame shaking in rage. "That overwhelming, murderous gaze and that crimson crest shield… there cannot be two of them in this world!"

Cius heard a small noise coming from the back of his throat before he could stop it. _What the Hell! _"A crimson shield with a crest? Could it be the most renowned Edarl Swordsman, even among the masters?"

"You know him!" Joshua yelled with insistence. If this Highlander knew the link to finding his sisters, then finding his sister would perhaps not be so far off anymore. He closed the distance between them and took a hold of the man's shoulders, easily reaching them as he hovered in mid-air.

"Nah, it couldn't be… my mistake." Cius shook his head quickly, shrinking back a little under the Featherfolk's touch. The Featherfolk then realised what he was doing and quickly shrunk back from the man, hoping he hadn't made him angry again. He just really needed to find his sister… it had been so long since he had last seen her. And every second he hadn't found her made her more likely to have departed the mortal plane.

"I see." Joshua couldn't help but sound disappointed at Cius' discouraging reply. Cius tentatively reached up a hand to touch the Featherfolk's shoulder in an encouraging manner, then withdrew his hand again. _Damn, getting touchy-feely on him would be too damn weird. Especially if he's acting like a fuckin' girl anyhow, bawlin' over his sister. _

Instead, he nodded at the being, curtly. He took a few steps back, intending to keep as much space between the being and him as possible, and then decided something that would quite possibly change his life. "So, basically, you're lookin' for the Eye of Truth too, right? …Let's go. You'd have a tough time inside, all by yourself." Hell, Cius didn't want weak people putting themselves in danger when he could help them. For some reason, Cius felt like he'd _care_ if they went in this Temple slash Cave and found Joshua bleeding to death on the floor by himself. Besides, he knew Ratix and Iria wouldn't let him go inside alone, either. Damn brats.

"Yes." Joshua nodded and smiled slightly. It was the first smile the Featherfolk produced, and it was directed at _him_. Cius suppressed the strange feeling of excitement and something _else_, and tried very hard not to think that Joshua should smile more often. The Featherfolk looked almost like a real person when he did that - and a beautiful one at that; his worried and serious air left immediately as his eyes started to sparkle.

Right at that moment Ratix and Iria entered the cave, breaking Joshua's tentative smile. Cius pretended not to mind the fading of the smile as the four people turned towards each other, regrouping now with an additional member to their team.

Cius only realised later on that if Joshua had acted as _a fuckin' girl _over his sister, then he had been doing the same thing over leaving Fear and Astral.


End file.
